Monday, May 24, 2010

It's not always easy to figure things out when I don't live in Paris, but with the help of friends, Spotted by Locals, Hip Paris, My Little Paris and lots of scavenging on the net, I found some wonderful locales that really enabled me to make this a very memorable trip.

Stefan first discovered several clues the night before we left to celebrate his birthday. I snuck them into his closet, so he'd find them while packing. They gave him an idea that we were going to depart on an adventure and what types of things he should pack.

Periodically throughout the trip I would give him new clues, so there was always something to surprise him.

Many of the clues were food oriented. We sampled what was voted the best baguette of 2010, chocolates from the finest chocolatier, chocolate mousse, cake, ice cream, macarons, champagne, wine... there was definitely a lot of celebrating, but it was tons of fun and thankfully over several days.

I don't even think I could pick a favorite out of those from Pierre Hermé. They are worth the trip to Paris (or Tokyo! - remember that love affair between the two cities?).

We also went to the restaurant where Amélie worked in Montmartre and sampled some of her crème brûlée, which was not only good, but also inexpensive.

Others clues were to offbeat destinations - the koi pond at the UNESCO world headquarters, a visit to Lady Liberty, a stop at Theo Van Gogh's house, where Vincent lived for a couple years, and a quintessential stop at the 'I Love You' wall.

We did a few other special things... however they deserve their very own post, which I'm working on.

If you are looking to create your own special tour around the city here are a few recommended places to start:

That is an incredible idea Emily! I can't imagine all the planning that went into this smashing trip though! Its hard enough to plan a simple weekend away.Thank you for putting so many tips on your blog. We're both anxious to get back to Paris, and would love to check out some of the spots you mentioned! We always Google cities and movies before we go on vacation. We kind of have a James Bond location thing going when we travel :) You are so creative!